Rising from a chair: effects of age and functional ability on performance biomechanics

Article Abstract:

A large number of aged persons need assistance getting in and out of chairs and beds; estimates are that nearly 8 percent of those aged 65 and over who are not living in institutions have such difficulty. These people may be at increased risk for immobility-related diseases and for institutionalization. Though there may be more overt causes for the difficulties that the elderly have in rising, biomechanics are always involved. To gain an understanding of the biomechanics involved in rising from a chair and the difficulties that might occur, 51 adults were classified as either young, old able, or old unable based upon their age and whether they could rise from a chair without the use of the hand-rests. The young group consisted of 17 subjects with an average age of 23 years, the old able group had 23 subjects whose average age was 72 years, and the old unable group consisted of 11 subjects with an average age of 84 years. Subjects were asked to rise from a chair, during which the timing, body segment angles, and hand forces were measured. Compared with the young subjects, the old able subjects spent a greater amount of time in the first of two phases of rising, and they rotated their body segments by a different amount. This was despite the fact that there was no difference in functional ability between the two groups. The old unable group took more time to rise than the old able group, they used different rotations, and they used the force of their hands more as compared with the force of their bodies. These data show that the mechanics of rising from a chair can be quantified in such a way that further analyses of joint strengths and postural stability can be made to determine their contributions to problems in rising. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Aging, Aged, Elderly, Biomechanics, Health risk assessment

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The influence of visual factors on fall-related kinematic variables during stair descent by older women

Article Abstract:

Most falls in public places occur while going down steps. In spite of this, there is very little information about the internal and external factors involved in falls. Safe stair descent depends on both proper visualization and proper sensory feedback about movement (kinesthesia). Thirty-six healthy women between the ages of 55 and 70, with normal sensory feedback and visual contrast sensitivity, were selected from a panel of volunteers to study foot-stair spatial relationships while descending the middle steps of a flight of stairs. The stairs were painted black to simulate low contrast, and subjects descended with and without blurring of their vision. A ''high-contrast'' effect was produced by painting a white stripe at the edge of each stair tread. The wall panels were modifiable so that half of the subjects were surrounded by vertical stripes and the other half by horizontal stripes as they descended. Very small foot clearance was found, indicating that small errors are more critical when descending stairs than on a level surface. The subjects slowed their pace when their vision was blurred, and increased their foot clearance, thereby adjusting for possible errors in foot placement. The wall patterns did not make a difference. The results underscore the importance of properly fitted footwear, better contrast definition on stairs, special attention to the needs of those who wear bifocals, and the use of slip-resistant surfaces. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Prevention, Accidents, Falls (Accidents), Accidental falls, Ability, Influence of age on, Stairs, Balance

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